Peeling Deck Refinished & Railings Repaired in North York

The deck: a big family deck under a peeling coat of red

This North York backyard deck is large and lived in: a main level with a dining table and a lounge set, a set of stairs up to the house, and a long run of railings around the whole thing. Someone had painted it with a red solid stain a few years earlier, and that coat was now coming off in flakes across the floor and down every stair tread. In the before photo you can see raw wood showing through everywhere people walk, and a few railing sections that had come loose and were due for repair. The family wanted the deck back in use for the summer, with the furniture on it, and they wanted the wood to look like wood again.

Railing repairs first

Before any finishing we went around the railings and repaired what had loosened over the years: re-securing posts and balusters, replacing hardware and tightening the top rails so the whole run was solid again. Railings get finished on the same visit as the floor, so any repairs have to come first or they show as patches later. It is a small part of a deck restoration but the part the homeowner feels every time they lean on the rail.

Sanding the peeling solid stain off

A peeling solid stain cannot be covered; it has to come off completely, or the new finish simply peels with it. We sanded the entire floor, the stair treads and risers back to bare pressure-treated wood, and sanded the railings, posts and caps back far enough to remove every loose flake and feather the edges. On a deck this size with this much railing it is most of the job, and it is the step that decides whether the finish lasts.

Semi-transparent oil-based stain

The floor, stairs and railings were finished in a semi-transparent oil-based stain in a red-cedar tone. Semi-transparent means the grain shows through the colour; oil-based means the stain soaks into the wood and cures inside it rather than forming a film on top. That is the opposite of the coating that failed here, and it is why the next maintenance coat will go straight on after a wash, with no stripping. The after photo of the stairs shows the result: an even, warm red-brown across treads, railings and floor, with the knots and grain visible.

The result

The family had their dining set, lounge chairs and umbrella back on the deck within days. Same deck, same boards, solid railings, and a finish that will wear gradually instead of peeling.

Deck restoration and railing repair in North York and Toronto

UCO Construction Group restores and stains decks, repairs wood railings and refinishes fences and porches across North York, Willowdale, Bayview Village, Don Mills, York Mills and the rest of the GTA. If your deck stain is peeling or your railings have loosened, see our deck staining and restoration service and our railings page, and get in touch for a free on-site estimate.